No fuss food

Over the past weeks I've had to adapt my recipes at home. Portions are smaller and the food preparation is more on the spare-of-the-moment, rather than a planned meal!
Yesterday I had some chicken breast which had been defrosting and was not in the mood of grilling the chicken then cooking some vegetables or some salad, so I opted for a 1 "pot" meal.
So here is what I used -
1 chicken breast - Fresh or simply defrosted
2 medium onions
4 new potatoes - or you can use 2 medium sized potatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 lemon, grated
1/2 tangerine, grated. - if these are not in season, you can substitute with an orange
1 cup of water

At this point, put your oven on and set it at 160C

Place the peeled, sliced onions at the bottom of a non-stick oven dish.  Next wash the potatoes and slice them. I like to keep the skin on, but if you prefer you can peel the potatoes before slicing them.  

Next place the chicken breast over the potatoes. You can cut the breast into portions - you should be able to get 4 portions out of each whole breast, or you can leave it whole.

Finally season the chicken with the herbs and the lemon and tangerine zest. you can also add some fresh pepper if you prefer. Pour the water into the roasting dish, try and find a corner where there is no chicken to pour your water so that you do not remove any of the dressing. Cover the pan tightly with some baking paper or some foil and cook in a pre-heated oven at 160C for about 20 minutes.

A new era - Part Deux

I think the time has come for me to change the title to this blog. Sadly there are no more cakes to order! Hopefully, though the recipes will still keep coming.

The address to the site will still remain the same so you need not change your links, bookmarks etc!

Time to move on though.... so please excuse me if my posts become less regular.
As I always, if you need any recipes or if you wants to tips, do not hesitate to post your comments on the site and i'll be more than willing to help you out!

Lovers' Day - St. Valentine

It's amazing how many heart-shaped chocolates, boxes and all other kinds of items pop up at this time of year. I'm sure that giving someone a heart-shaped box of chocolate will show them that you love them or care about them.  In Italian the words used to distinguish have a deeper meaning - ti amo (I love you), ti voglio bene (i wish you well) but the latter, even though the actual translation means i wish you well means that i care for you, I'm fond of you.

So even though most shops and card adverts specify that Valentine's Day is not just for lovers, i do agree with them even though their motifs behind this generous feeling are completely different.  Valentine's Day is there to take a moment and reflect on the people we love. There is really no need to go overboard and spend hundred and thousands of Euros but it's nice to actually have a day where we celebrate love in all it's permutations.. love between partners, siblings or even colleagues! 

I just happen to be in the capital of chocolates this week so there is an extra dose of heart-shaped chocolate delicacies around me this week.. and even though I'm sure they are delicious and that they might be using the finest ingredients, I always preferred flowers on this special day.

The thing with chocolates is that we are quite accustomed to buying chocolates on a regular basis and I'm sure that most of you have bought chocolates for yourself... maybe even hid them to enjoy alone! Well it is quite rare for me to buy flowers for myself, so that is a kind of treat for me!

Having said all this I must also add that I always stay away from restaurants on this "Special Occassion!"... the set menus are so off-putting and I always preferred a nice home-cooked meal even if it a simple plate of pasta!  For those of you looking for inspirations on what to cook on this lovers day, I had some recipes published in the Best Buy Supplement which was out with The Times on Wednesday 10th.

Being a Sunday though, how about impressing your partner with a breakfast in bed?... some pancakes spread with Nutella would be nice or even some warm toast and a nice coffee served on a tray!

post a comment below if you need some inspirations.... I'll be more than happy to give you a helping hand!